Limberlock Inn
Known Name(s)
Limberlock Inn
Address
1659 Rt. 7a Manchester, VT
Establishment Type(s)
Lodge, Restaurant
Physical Status
Extant
Detailed History
The Limberlock Lodge, also called the Limberlock Inn or simply Limberlock, was owned by Miss Percie May Donald when it first appeared in the 1949 Green Book. She charged five dollars per night to stay in the lodge or in one of the cabins on the property, with discounts for lodgers staying a week or more. The Limberlock Lodge also featured a restaurant with large dining rooms frequently used as event space for groups such as the Rotary Club and Veterans’ associations. In the off-season, Donald usually spent her time in New Jersey, Florida, or Washington, D.C. Percie May Donald was a white female born in Prince Edward Island, in 1887. She was the daughter of John Donald and Mary McCormick, married in 1945 to Bernard Ransom Merkel (1890-1948). Merkel was from Brooklyn, New York, and worked as a surveyor. Donald was listed in the 1920 census, living in Washington, D.C. and working as a bookkeeper. Two years later, she would purchase Limberlock Inn from Flavis A.C. Canfield. The inn was regularly advertised in the Manchester Journal from 1917 to the 1950s, offering chicken and waffle dinners, luncheon, and afternoon tea. Following Donald’s death, the property was sold at public auction in 1955 to John and Barbara Essex. The new owners undertook extensive renovations; one private dining room was expanded to a capacity of one hundred guests. The Essexes, too, ran the lodge and restaurant as a seasonal venue, operating in winter and spring, and continuing to advertise in the Green Book. During the rest of the year, they lived in Woodhaven, New York. In 1959, John Essex was elected Vice President of the Bennington County Tourist Association. Limberlock Lodge changed hands again in 1960, this time to Simon and Nancie Barendese. Nancie, the daughter of famed French conductor Pierre Monteux, and her French-born husband renovated the cabins and the main lodge building, turning the Limberlock Lodge into a French restaurant and renaming it “L’Auberge.” Nancie Barendese made all of the restaurant’s desserts herself. L’Auberge could host six couples at a time in the cabins. L’Auberge continued to appear as “Limberlock” in the Green Book until 1962, when it was removed as a listing altogether. Simon and Nancie Barendese ran L’Auberge until the early 1970s, when their head chef took over as owner. He later renamed the place “The Golden Toad.”
